Pincay Rides Lost Kitty to Nose Victory at Del Mar

The filly factor returned to the Del Mar Futurity Wednesday. Lost Kitty and Laffit Pincay, in a rousing display of determination by horse and rider in the last strides, edged favored Bold Second in the richest running of the race.

Lost Kitty, who lost the lead to the late-running Bold Second with about 100 yards to go, responded to Pincay’s strong left-handed whip and got her nose to the line just in time. Bold Second, who was ahead of only two runners in the nine-horse field coming out of the turn for home, finished 2 lengths ahead of Purdue King, with Mr. Game Player, at 24-1, fourth in the $300,550 stake for 2-year-olds.

Lost Kitty, in an encore to what trainer Wayne Lukas did with Althea in 1983, became only the second filly in track history to win both the Del Mar Debutante and the Futurity. In 1970, June Darling became the first filly to win the Futurity.

Lukas and Lost Kitty’s co-owner, Gene Klein, had to pay a pair of $10,000 supplementary fees to make the filly eligible for both races, but the investment was sound. Lost Kitty’s win Wednesday--in the richest race in Del Mar history--was worth $174,800 and increased her career total to more than $377,000.

Lukas started two fillies Wednesday, coupling Raised in Song with Lost Kitty, and the entry paid $10.60, $4.20 and $2.80. Bold Second, who was on a three-race winning streak, was the 3-2 favorite in the crowd of 25,662 and paid $3.80 and $2.60, with Purdue King returning $3.20 for show. Lost Kitty’s time of 1:36 1/5 for the mile was the slowest winning clocking in the Futurity since Roving Boy in 1982.

Besides his two wins with fillies in the Futurity, Lukas has also just missed twice, Sacahuista losing by a nose to Qualify last year and Arewehavingfunyet finishing a neck back of Tasso in 1985.

Lost Kitty was a $750,000 yearling purchase. She is a daughter of Magesterial and the dam, Sharp Kitty, also foaled to Family Style, who won the 2-year-old filly title for Klein and Lukas in 1985.

Lost Kitty, who has won four of seven starts, broke her maiden on the second try at Belmont Park in July. After winning a minor stake at Monmouth Park, she ran second twice at Del Mar before winning the Debutante by five lengths 10 days ago.

On Wednesday, Lost Kitty did not appear to be especially alert in the gate, as she waited for the four horses outside her to be loaded. Her head was down several times, but when the bell rang, she came out running.

Mr. Game Player, with Bill Shoemaker, took the early lead, with Lost Kitty just off his flank and Accomplish Ridge also keeping up. Bold Second, who broke from the No. 8 post, was last leaving the first turn, but began to pick up horses leaving the backstretch under Gary Baze.

In mid-stretch, Mr. Game Player was fading on the rail while Bold Second drew a bead on Lost Kitty from the extreme outside. Purdue King, who had won the Balboa Stakes here in his last start, was still running hard between Lost Kitty and Bold Second, trying to give Chris McCarron his sixth win of the day.

Purdue King got squeezed and McCarron was forced to move him to the outside.

Baze thought he had opened up a half-length on Lost Kitty at the sixteenth pole and it appeared that Bold Second would breeze on by.

“I thought I was beaten,” Pincay said. “I switched my stick to the left and she came back again. I was surprised. She’s a good filly.”

As for Bold Second’s trip, Baze said: “I tried not to get fanned too wide (on the first turn), but it couldn’t be helped. I can’t take anything away from the filly. She was gutty and came back.”

“I made a big move around the far turn and it might have taken more out of my horse than I wanted. It was a bad place to lose ground. It cost me ground and momentum.”

McCarron said that Bold Second ducked in front of Purdue King about 70 yards from the finish.

“I had to steady, but it didn’t cost me my position,” McCarron said. “I was third best.”

When Lost Kitty won at Monmouth, she gave Angel Cordero his 6,000th career victory. McCarron rode her for the two second-place finishes here, then Gary Stevens got the mount in the Debutante. Stevens, who had won two straight races with Doctor’s Tribute, rode that colt to a fifth-place finish Wednesday.

The stakes win was the 72nd of the year for the far-flung Lukas operation, which last weekend had broken the record of 70 that it had set in 1985.

“This filly showed me a lot of heart and courage,” Lukas said. “You’ve got to take your shots when you can, and this time of year I think fillies can take on colts and do well.”

Althea went on to beat colts as a 3-year-old, winning the Arkansas Derby in record time. Lost Kitty is expected to return to her division for the time being, though. There’s a $1-million purse for 2-year-old fillies on Breeders’ Cup day at Hollywood Park Nov. 21, and most of the opposition will come from her own barn.

Notes

Wednesday’s crowd was the largest closing-day attendance in track history. . . . Lost Kitty carried 117 pounds, one less than Bold Second. . . . Gary Stevens’ 59 wins led the 43-day meeting. Laffit Pincay was second with 48. . . . Dick Mandella saddled three winners Wednesday, but Wayne Lukas won the training title with 15 victories, three more than Donn Luby and John Gosden. . . . Bill Shoemaker will ride Nostalgia’s Star Sunday in the Marlboro Cup at Belmont Park. . . . Zany Tactics goes from Del Mar to Louisiana Downs, to run in the $100,000 Island Whirl Handicap Sunday.